Yesterday afternoon represented an interesting confluence of events.

I was on my way home from a great day on the golf course for the ISU Town and Gown Golf Outing and was listening to "Start With Why" by Simon Simenek.

I realized that maybe if I shared the "why" of why I like golf so much I might inspire others to understand the why of their particular hobby of choice.

So, here are my top couple of reasons why golf for me.

First, golf is hard. Really hard. Becoming really good at golf is a life long pursuit that you never quite figure out. I love a challenge and I love getting better at something incrementally.

Second, golf is outside. One of my favorite quotes that I am reminded of frequently is "God must be happiest when his children are at play." This reminds me of golf so much because golf is played outside on a big, green, lush field. Golf courses (to me) are a symbol of all the beauty that exists in nature and remind me to take those small moments we can find to drink it all in.

Golf is (generally) played with other people and is a great relationship builder. You can’t help but feel some comradery with your foursome as you play because you all face the same challenge, the course and your ability to manage it the best way possible for you and your skill set.

Last one on the list (for today, the list is much longer than this) is that golf is a game of focus. One of weak areas is being able to focus for long periods. Golf is a test of your ability to focus for brief instances, over and over again over a four or five hour period.

This email is not intended to convince you to run out and buy some clubs and take up golf as your new passion (although I would recommend it if you are looking for something). My intention is merely to illustrate that when you have a "why" for you hobby, you enjoy it much more.

In the same way, finding your "why" in life will lead to more happiness, better results and an overall happier life.

Spend some time thinking about they "why" in the things you do. Learn to embrace this important element of your life.

Make it a great day.

Jake

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

(Isaiah 6:8 ESV)

I heard this verse in church on Sunday and wrote it down so I could share it with everyone.

Here I am. Send me.

Sometimes in life you just have to step forward and be the person saying “send me”.

You get to be the one to volunteer to take on the extra work.

You get to be the one to drive your friend to the airport.

You get to be the one to serve soup at the homeless shelter.

I originally wrote “you have to” at the beginning of all those sentences but replaced it with “you get to”. Funny how a little difference like that can change your perspective on something.

Taking action is a key to success. This verse reminded me that taking action in service to others is where it is at.

Make it a great day of service today.

Jake

You can’t make progress without making decisions.

Jim Rohn

I know everyone was getting disappointed that I hadn’t sent out a Jim Rohn quote for a while. (If you need more Jim Rohn quotes, just "Like" his FaceBox page and you will get a couple of good ones everyday.)

One of the key elements of success is taking action. And you can’t take action without making some kind of decision.

What great thing is out there waiting for you to just make a decision to go for it?

My challenge for you all today is to find one thing that is waiting on a decision from you and make it. Move forward.

Jake

Additional/random thought. This line of thinking reminded me of one of my favorite sections from Dr. Seuss’s "Oh, The Places You’ll Go". I have cut and paste it below.

The Waiting Place…

…for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go

or a bus to come, or a plane to go

or the mail to come, or the rain to go

or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow

or the waiting around for a Yes or No

or waiting for their hair to grow.

Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite

or waiting for the wind to fly a kite

or waiting around for Friday night

or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake

or a pot to boil, or a Better Break

or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants

or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.

Everyone is just waiting.

NO!

That’s not for you!

Somehow you’ll escape

all that waiting and staying

You’ll find the bright places

where Boom Bands are playing.

I recently read "Tuesdays With Morrie" by Mitch Albom. Excellent book that tells the story of an old man passing on the wisdom obtained through a lifetime of living to a younger man searching for meaning and direction in his life.

There are a lot of little tidbits in this book so instead of trying to summarize them I thought I would share a list of these tidbits Morrie offers Mitch during their conversations.

Life is a series of pulls back and forth…..Who wins?…..Love wins. Love always wins.

The culture we have doesn’t make people feel good about themselves. You have to be strong enough to say that if the culture doesn’t work, don’t buy it.

Let love come in. We think we don’t deserve love, we think if let it in it will make us soft. But a wise man named Levine said "Love is the only rational act."

Learn how to die and you learn how to live.

Love each other or perish. Auden

You must detach yourself from life’s experiences. Detachment doesn’t mean you don’t let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate you fully. That’s how you are able to leave it.

I embrace aging. It’s very simple. As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you would always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It is growth. It isn’t just the negative that you are going to die, it is also the positive that you know you are going to die and you live a better life because of it.

There’s a big confusion in this country over what we want versus what we need. You need food, you want a chocolate sundae. You have to be honest with yourself. You don’t need the latest sports car. You don’t need the biggest house.

Truth is, you don’t get satisfaction from those things. You know what really gives you satisfaction? Offering others what you have to give.

Devote yourself to loving others. Devote yourself to your community. Devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.

The biggest defect we human beings have is our shortsightedness. We don’t see what we could be. We should be looking at our potential, stretching ourselves into everything we can be.

Forgive yourself before you die. Then forgive others.

What a great collection of little tidbits learned over the course of a life well lived.

Make it a great day.

Jake

One last quote and thought from Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning”.

After spending some time in America teaching and lecturing, Viktor made a suggestion.

He suggested that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented with a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.

In order to have and make the best of use of the liberties presented us, we must take responsibility for all of our actions.

Interesting that I thought of typing this email today only to realize halfway through the tie in with Memorial Day.

The liberty we enjoy is because of the deaths and sacrifices of those in our armed forces and we owe it to them to take responsibility for ourselves and for making the most of it.

Make it a great day. One full of both liberty and responsibility.

Jake

One last blatant sales pitch for this one – read “Man’s Search for Meaning”.

Since I am still feeling patriotic and appreciative of everything our soldiers have done and will do, I thought I would send out this song and the lyrics below.

http://youtu.be/gOvA-Hn4_ZM

Make it a great day.

Jake

America the Beautiful

Words by Katharine Lee Bates,

Melody by Samuel Ward

O beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet

Whose stern impassioned stress

A thoroughfare of freedom beat

Across the wilderness!

America! America!

God mend thine every flaw,

Confirm thy soul in self-control,

Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved

In liberating strife.

Who more than self their country loved

And mercy more than life!

America! America!

May God thy gold refine

Till all success be nobleness

And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years

Thine alabaster cities gleam

Undimmed by human tears!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for halcyon skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the enameled plain!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

Till souls wax fair as earth and air

And music-hearted sea!

O beautiful for pilgrims feet,

Whose stem impassioned stress

A thoroughfare for freedom beat

Across the wilderness!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

Till paths be wrought through

wilds of thought

By pilgrim foot and knee!

O beautiful for glory-tale

Of liberating strife

When once and twice,

for man’s avail

Men lavished precious life!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

Till selfish gain no longer stain

The banner of the free!

O beautiful for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years

Thine alabaster cities gleam

Undimmed by human tears!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

Till nobler men keep once again

Thy whiter jubilee!